Popular Post KevinRichardsonsMoustache Posted February 9, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 9, 2020 Can I just say what a joy (and I really mean that) this thread is. We all interact on this forum but we don’t really know each other. Reading some of the posts above is incredibly eye opening: for some reason, I never consider the age and experience of posters on here, we’re all somehow stopped in time. These posts add so much texture. I’d love to see an oral history of Villa (perhaps interspersed with some photography of the more mundane aspects of life as a Villa fan (life on the terraces etc) published. Perhaps we could create a VT Archive of stories that we could put together as a published piece? Might be nice to do something like that to coincide with the (40th anniversary of ‘82. Following Villa can be a tough road but I’m always so energised by these stories. I was born in the 80s and most of my early memories of the club come from the early 1990s. But even then you could hear the echoes from the folks that had experienced 82: and beyond. For those of you that are younger, you are part of all of this: don’t feel as if you’ve missed out. Just consider what a lineage you are part of. Our badge used to say ‘prepared’: prepared for what is to come, yes, but prepared to hold onto these memories and to keep them alive. These stories really are a reflection of what a mighty and historic club ours is. Football teams’ honours are listed on the boards and in the record books. But for me, it’s stories like this that are the mortar that hold the club together. Thank you for sharing. I will continue reading with great interest. UTV 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyvilla Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Was anyone in that packed away end at swindon in 87/88 , waiting for results from elsewhere , as they say the rest is history 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) On 09/02/2020 at 13:01, DaveAV1 said: I remember when Alex Cropley broke his leg against The Albion, I think it was Ali Robertson’s tackle. Andy Gray ran straight up to him and put him on the deck. I used to sit downstairs in the trinity road with my Dad then and we all heard his leg snap. I met Alex a few years later 1986/7 I think. It was in his pub in Edinburgh, called Cropley’s. He had Villa, Arsenal and Scotland shirts on the wall. He was a lovely bloke and still good mates with Andy Gray. I was working not boozing, but his Mom came out and made us both a cup of tea! I was good friends with Andy, stayed at his moms in Glasgow for a week on one occasion....I met Alex a number of times.....such a technician. Andy once said to me " you're in awe of Alex, why are you not like that with me" I said" because you're my mate" He just laughed. I too was at the game it happened near the centre circle, horrific, you could hear it all over the ground, but i think it was Ally Brown that did it. Edited February 10, 2020 by TRO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 9, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted February 9, 2020 8 hours ago, Robtaylor200 said: Every one met in the same area. The Cannock lot were situated at the back, left hand side. no matter how you got there you could meet and stand with your mates. I'm sure have told this here before (at least I would be amazed if I hadn't) but I was at The Gun Barrels in Selly Oak one new years eve standing several deep in the queue. The guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said "excuse me mate, do you go down the Villa?" I said yes and how does he know. He replies "I always stand behind you in The Holte End, I recognised the back of your head" At that point I recognised him and he was correct, we always stood in the same place in the same pen and him and his mates always stood behind us. Mad that he recognised the back of my head! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) 33 minutes ago, sidcow said: I'm sure have told this here before (at least I would be amazed if I hadn't) but I was at The Gun Barrels in Selly Oak one new years eve standing several deep in the queue. The guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said "excuse me mate, do you go down the Villa?" I said yes and how does he know. He replies "I always stand behind you in The Holte End, I recognised the back of your head" At that point I recognised him and he was correct, we always stood in the same place in the same pen and him and his mates always stood behind us. Mad that he recognised the back of my head! Maybe it was the Billy two rivers hair cut, you had. Edited February 9, 2020 by TRO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 12 hours ago, TRO said: I was good friends with Andy, stayed at his moms in Glasgow on one occasion....I met Alex a number of times.....such a technician. Andy once said to me " you,re in awe of Alex, why are you not like that with me" I said" because you're my mate" He just laughed. I too was at the game it happened near the centre circle horrific, you could hear it all over the ground, but i think it was Ally Brown that did it. You’re right it was Ally Brown. My recollection was that it was near the Trinity Road touch line, but the years cloud the memory TRO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 6 hours ago, DaveAV1 said: You’re right it was Ally Brown. My recollection was that it was near the Trinity Road touch line, but the years cloud the memory TRO. I know the feeling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robtaylor200 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) In the "old days" some players had a couple of rolls Jimmy Cumbes our goalie for about 4 years was also fast bowler for Lancashire or was it Warwickshire (sure one of you other old farts will put me right )- for that reason only I started to follow cricket too Edited February 10, 2020 by Robtaylor200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robtaylor200 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Whats the cheapest you remember paying to get in 40p. I remember wearing my Crombie coat with a hole in one pocket making sure I put my 60p the change from a pound into the correct pocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 On 09/02/2020 at 12:40, DaveAV1 said: Stories that will last a lifetime Rob, I have a few myself, including getting nicked at New Street on the way to Rotterdam. I got to the game and added a few more memories, including sobbing my heart out when Withe’s shin made history. I remember being on the pitch at Highbury and then climbing up into the seats. It was mayhem and they didn’t present us with the League Champions trophy, but we didn’t care! It makes me laugh when pundits say a joyous pitch invasion at Villa Park is like going back to the 70s/80s. They haven’t got a clue. We’re all a bit daft until the right woman comes along and sorts us out! I do feel for lads who don’t have the memories we have been blessed with. Hopefully we will all get some more over the next few years. UTV!!!!! I'm running out of time Dave ,just being diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer, so they better hurry up. I should be ok, fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Remember going to Bolton on a Claribels coach and the Bolton Fans put every window through, blimey it was cold coming back....."Maggie May was in the charts and being played every few hours"....those halcyon days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DaveAV1 Posted February 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, TRO said: I'm running out of time Dave ,just being diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer, so they better hurry up. I should be ok, fingers crossed. I’m sorry to here your bad news. On the positive side treatments are so much more advanced now and most people do survive. Just look at it as relegation to the third division and we all know what followed after that. All the very best of luck in your journey TRO. The Villa family will all be walking with you. 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TRO Posted February 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said: I’m sorry to here your bad news. On the positive side treatments are so much more advanced now and most people do survive. Just look at it as relegation to the third division and we all know what followed after that. All the very best of luck in your journey TRO. The Villa family will all be walking with you. Thanks Dave...so thoughtful. I'm having treatment now, and the medics are confident....as confident as anyone can be with health. In some ways its why I am impatient to see them a force again. Edited February 10, 2020 by TRO 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 19 minutes ago, TRO said: Thanks Dave...so thoughtful. I'm having treatment now, and the medics are confident....as confident as anyone can be with health. In some ways its why I am impatient to see them a force again. The one thing that most of us are missing from our trophy collection is of course The FA Cup. I’d love to see us lift the old pot. Both finals in my lifetime were, as I’m sure you’ll agree, disappointing to say the least. Next year’s the year! Again...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 10, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Robtaylor200 said: In the "old days" some players had a couple of rolls Jimmy Cumbes our goalie for about 4 years was also fast bowler for Lancashire or was it Warwickshire (sure one of you other old farts will put me right )- for that reason only I started to follow cricket too Even the great Ian Botham played professional football for Yeovil and Scunthorpe. It can't imagine it going down well today if Ben Stokes informed the ECB that he was going to play a bit for Walsall. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 10, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 48 minutes ago, TRO said: I'm running out of time Dave ,just being diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer, so they better hurry up. I should be ok, fingers crossed. Shit. So sorry to hear that @TRO. I know a few people who have been diagnosed in recent years and thank goodness the prognosis is so much better than it used to be. Best wishes to you man. Edited February 10, 2020 by sidcow 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 hours ago, Robtaylor200 said: In the "old days" some players had a couple of rolls Jimmy Cumbes our goalie for about 4 years was also fast bowler for Lancashire or was it Warwickshire (sure one of you other old farts will put me right )- for that reason only I started to follow cricket too It was Worcestershire Rob, which is the reason why a lot “of old fart” Villa fans support Worcester, me included. Admittedly not with the same passion and one eyed view as with my first love. I think I’ve read somewhere that Brian Little is a fair cricketer too, although by the time he was playing it was a football only career. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) On 09/02/2020 at 17:04, KevinRichardsonsMoustache said: Can I just say what a joy (and I really mean that) this thread is. We all interact on this forum but we don’t really know each other. Reading some of the posts above is incredibly eye opening: for some reason, I never consider the age and experience of posters on here, we’re all somehow stopped in time. These posts add so much texture. I’d love to see an oral history of Villa (perhaps interspersed with some photography of the more mundane aspects of life as a Villa fan (life on the terraces etc) published. Perhaps we could create a VT Archive of stories that we could put together as a published piece? Might be nice to do something like that to coincide with the (40th anniversary of ‘82. Following Villa can be a tough road but I’m always so energised by these stories. I was born in the 80s and most of my early memories of the club come from the early 1990s. But even then you could hear the echoes from the folks that had experienced 82: and beyond. For those of you that are younger, you are part of all of this: don’t feel as if you’ve missed out. Just consider what a lineage you are part of. Our badge used to say ‘prepared’: prepared for what is to come, yes, but prepared to hold onto these memories and to keep them alive. These stories really are a reflection of what a mighty and historic club ours is. Football teams’ honours are listed on the boards and in the record books. But for me, it’s stories like this that are the mortar that hold the club together. Thank you for sharing. I will continue reading with great interest. UTV I think the thing that most amazes me, is the amount of players over the years, who previously had no connection with the club, but it leaves such a lasting impression on them, after playing for us. so many players fall in love with Villa.....The old place must have something very special. Edited February 11, 2020 by TRO 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 10 hours ago, TRO said: I think the thing that most amazes me, is the amount of players over the years, who previously had no connection with the club, but it leaves such a lasting impression on them, after playing for us. so many players fall in love with Villa.....The old place must have something very special. Paul Merson, despite being an Arsenal legend said that Villa was the only club he cried over when he left. Special doesn't even scratch the surface with our incredible football club. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DaveAV1 Posted February 11, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 11, 2020 “About Villa Park itself hung an aura that seems almost to be visible. Most certainly it is there to be felt and I know of no other ground that has the same effect on one. Almost it seems to be peopled by ghosts – amiable ghosts whose job it is to breathe the great Villa spirit into generation after generation of ambitious youngsters who pass through the great gates to achieve a life's ambition; to wear the famous claret and blue of the great club” This is from Billy Walker’s Soccer In The Blood, page 23. Sends tingles down the spine. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts